water

Last August 15, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the prime minister made a very important announcement—his government would ensure “there is no school in India without separate toilets for boys and girls” by the next Independence Day. Exactly one year later, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has announced that this target has been met and that some 417,000 toilets have been built in 261,000 schools.

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a satisfactory parameter to measure water quality. However, the process of measurement should be improved and speeded up. Two ways of doing this are using a bio-sensor based system or a spectrophotometer, that give results within minutes and are nearly as accurate as laboratory-based monitoring. That said, conventional laboratory testing must also be made more robust with clear protocols for sampling, transport and testing.

CSE’s Green Rating Project (GRP) has for the first time carried out an independent, rigorous and transparent assessment of India’s iron and steel sector. The project was sponsored by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India and the UNDP.The environmental ranking for 21 large steel plants is based on performance assessment of over 150 indicators ranging from design, efficiency of production process, pollution compliance, water, energy, safety to local community response.